Aussie student aims to give 500,000 kids their first book
National Book Week: an Australian student and World Literacy Foundation Youth Ambassador has asked her city to help deliver a ‘symphony of stories’: 500,000 children receiving their first book
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Do you remember the first book you ever owned? Was it a portal* into a fantasy world, or did it follow the adventures of someone with superhuman powers?
Melbourne student, Amanda Nagel, wants every child to experience the thrilling world of books, so she’s asking her city to join her in giving 500,000 children their first book.
The Albert Park College student was named a World Literacy Foundation Youth Ambassador for Melbourne, one of 900 young people aged 16 to 25 from 101 countries. She is supporting One Book at a Time, a campaign launching on International Literacy Day on September 8, that invites people to give a book to a child who has never owned one.
But Amanda didn’t want to wait until September to get started. She has been running her own Read to Raise initiative* in Melbourne, raising funds for Reading Out of Poverty, a World Literacy Foundation program that gets books to children who have none.
“Reading has always been an important part of my life because it has helped me develop my imagination, my writing and my understanding of other people’s experiences,” Amanda said. “One of my favourite books is Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, which encouraged me to think more deeply about identity, influence and the way appearances can differ from who we really are.
“Through my involvement with the World Literacy Foundation, I have become more aware that many children do not have access to the books that can help them learn, imagine and feel connected to the world.”
World Literacy Foundation CEO and founder, Andrew Kay, said the campaign* only works when people take it into their own communities.
“A child who owns no books arrives at school already behind and rarely catches up,” he said. “That is a solvable problem. Ten dollars solves it once, and a young person like Amanda solves it a hundred times over by getting a whole city thinking about it.”
There are 739 million adults worldwide who cannot read or write, according to UNESCO, while the World Literacy Foundation estimates a further two billion struggle with a simple sentence. Among children, the World Bank finds 70 per cent of 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple written text.
Melburnians joined Amanda at a community Readathon at Boyd Community Hub in Southbank on August 22 and 23, helping raise more than $1300 for children’s books.
Kids News editor Diana Jenkins said access to books is “fundamental”* to children’s literacy.
“I was always an avid* reader and I still fantasise about being locked in the library overnight, snug among the crowded shelves, where my most vulnerable* and curious self flies free,” she said. “Sinking into the world of whatever book I’m reading remains my idea of total bliss. As a child, I loved books about fantastical kingdoms at the back of the wardrobe. Books about irresistible faraway lands accessible only from the top of a tree that was itself magical. Books about bridges in the woods crossing to hidden realms. Books about playing Beatie Bow in calico* dresses or beautiful boarding school girls who vanish during a school picnic at Hanging Rock.”
As Administrator of the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee, run by Kids News, Ms Jenkins said all previous national champions shared a love of books.
“They’re all prolific* readers of fiction, just as I was at their age,” she said. “And that’s not a coincidence. Books expose you to a vast vocabulary and stoke the fire of your imagination. Books about brave heroes and heroines help give kids courage to meet life’s challenges, just as books about children reaching safety after an epic ordeal can support them through real-world troubles.
“Stories are never just stories. They’re gateways, open doors, tunnels, rivers, train tracks, winding staircases, mountainous trails, ladders to the sky, and wide open roads leading to a better future for every child.
“ Who doesn’t want that ending? I know I do.”
Give a book, share your love of reading
Join Amanda and others by giving a book this International Literacy Day. $10 buys one book for a child who has never owned one. Donors can choose the region it goes to or leave it to where the need is greatest. Give at worldliteracyfoundation.org/international-literacy-day/
POLL
GLOSSARY
portal: A fictional or mystical doorway in stories, movies and games that leads to another dimension or world
initiative: a fresh plan to fix a problem, or the drive to act on your own
campaign: a planned group of activities intended to achieve a particular aim
fundamental: forming a core base or foundation of something
avid: being extremely eager or interested in something
vulnerable: being easily hurt, harmed or attacked, either physically or emotionally
calico: a plain-woven cotton fabric
prolific: producing a great number, or abundance of something
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QUICK QUIZ
- What does the One Book at a Time campaign deliver?
- How did reading help Amanda Nagel?
- What element does Andrew Kay believe makes the campaign a success?
- Name three books Diana Jenkins mentions inspired her as a child
- What do all previous Spelling Bee national champions have in common?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Disadvantages of non-reading
Discuss with a partner and brainstorm all the things you would have difficulty doing and accessing if you don’t have the skills to adequately read or write, as a child and then moving into adulthood.
List the top 5 disadvantages you think they would face:
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2.
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5.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking.
2. Extension
What skills and enjoyment have books given you since you were a young child up to today?
What do you think are the best benefits of reading and owning books?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and social, Critical and Creative Thinking.
VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?
Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.